Practitioner’s Note by Caroline McSherry Dolan and Sallye G. Webb
In Louisiana, an individual's fear of contracting a disease such as cancer has been recognized as a compensable type of mental anguish or emotional distress. This Note explores the law in Louisiana concerning a claim for “fear of cancer.”
In 1974, the Louisiana Supreme Court in Anderson v. Welding Testing Laboratory, Inc. recognized as compensable a fear of contracting cancer. It did not, however, articulate either the elements of, or a detailed burden of proof for the recovery of damages for, such a claim. Many courts, in fact, have relied upon the standard for compensability set forth in Hagerty v. L & L Marine Services, Inc., a case decided under maritime, rather than Louisiana, law. Reviewing both federal and state jurisprudence on this issue since Anderson, this Note attempts to define the elements a plaintiff must establish and what evidence is necessary to prevail on a claim for damages based upon mental anguish suffered as a result of the fear of contracting a disease, particularly cancer, in the future.
About the Author
Caroline McSherry Dolan. Associate, Phelps Dunbar LLP. J.D. George Washington University School of Law; B.A. Marquette University.
Sallye G. Webb. Staff Attorney, Phelps Dunbar LLP. J.D. Tulane University School of Law; B.A. University of New Orleans.
Citation
76 Tul. L. Rev. 1141 (2002)